the body of the people, and civil government ought to protect the poor, laborious, and industrious part of mankind in the enjoyment of their just rights and equal liberties and privileges with the rest of their fellow creatures." He urged his hearers to find out the cause of the multiplicity of expensive and vexatious lawsuits beyond what was ever known in the Province before, and suggested the amending of the law of attachments, the severities of which had been used, he was informed, in cases never intended. Accordingly, the Assembly passed an Act, which he approved, and which the Crown allowed, for rectifying such proceedings. This provided that no writ of attachment was to issue against any inhabitant, except upon oath or affirmation that the defendant owed the plaintiff 40s. or more, and had absconded for six days with supposed intention to defraud his creditors, he not having sufficient real estate to pay them: all lands, goods, chattels, and effects were to be attached; and no second attachment could take place, if the first had been served and not dissolved, but the property was to be disposed of for the benefit of all creditors in proportion to their claims, and the surplus, after paying them and the expenses, was to be returned to the debtor. On March 2, a law was passed that no freeholder should be arrested in any civil action, unless in the King's case, or where a fine would be due to the King, but that the original process should be a summons, to be served ten days before the day to appear, and, on a failure to appear, the plaintiff could enter judgment. The Act was not to apply to persons other than residents of at least two years' time with fifty acres of land, ten of them cleared or improved, or with a dwelling house worth 50%., nor to any freeholder against whom an oath or affirmation set forth that he had not sufficient clear real estate in the province to pay his debts, or that he was about to sell same, and abscond, or that he was about to make fraudulent conveyance to cheat his creditors. Moreover, no member of Assembly was to be arrested in a civil action during its sitting, or within fourteen days before or after. Against both of these acts, as well as a law for regulating fees, Mrs. Penn appealed for the royal disallowance, after being successful in removing Keith: but the act directing a summons was the only one disallowed. Meanwhile, it had been reenacted, with the safeguard of arrest being permitted under additional circumstances. An Act of Assembly passed also on March 2, 1722-3, forbade, where security were given, the issuing of execution until June 25, 1723, and stayed until renewed the writs of execution for imprisoning debtors who had given security for the debt, or who were owners of land of that value in the province, and were willing to sell or mortgage to make payment. The legislators, while so protecting honest persons owing money, undertook to end the wide-spread distress from scarcity of what was a legal tender, by a measure to be described in the next chapter. CHAPTER XXI. PAPER MONEY. Paper money of the other colonies-Rawle's suggestion for issue to landowners-Keith supports the measure- -Scheme established by Act of Mch. 2, 1722-3-Interest on private debts reduced to six per cent -Value of Spanish gold pieces fixed-Keith's business undertakings-A showman allowed to perform-Baird appointed Secretary and Clerk of the Council-The Lower Counties issue 50001.-Further legislation by Pennsylvania as to the loans, and issue of additional 300007.-The interest pays expenses of central government-Prosperity revives-Law to improve breed of horses-Final permission to Quakers to qualify without referring to God in the affirmation-Hannah Penn's instructions-Keith refuses to obey-Spotswood intercedes with her on Keith's behalf-Keith reveals to the Assembly the Instructions, and the Assembly commends his stand-His weakness politically in the colonySuccessful proceedings to have him superseded— The Commissioners for Trade allow the paper money laws to stand, but warn against further issue Pamphlets for and against Keith-Lieutenant-Governor Patrick Gordon-Keith elected Assemblyman, but Lloyd made Speaker-Thwarting of the Collector of Customs-Gordon converted to paper money-Death of Hannah Penn, and her appointment of her children's shares— First Proprietary's will judicially establishedAgreement by Hannah's children-Quarrel of the Moores, the Admiralty Judge, and the Lieutenant-Governor-Death of Rawle-Elections Sir William Keith goes to England-Is first to Governmental promises to pay had been usually issued in the various colonies to obtain what was required at once in anticipation of raising its cost by taxation, when the promises would be redeemed: but there had been on several occasions a large quantity issued and loaned to individuals, particularly on real estate security, for the chief purpose of adding to the amount of money in circulation, and sometimes for the additional purpose of raising an income from the interest paid by the borrowers. The government of Pennsylvania had not, down to Keith's time, provided such additional means of exchange; although a petition of several inhabitants, merchants, traders, and others, was presented to the Assembly of Pennsylvania on Feb. 24, 1714-5, for a law for raising a fund of paper bills, with also an essay for putting the same in execution. What was the method suggested, whether by a loan to real estate owners on mortgage, making what was called a "land bank," is not known. This plan was adopted by Rhode Island in 1715, when, passing its earliest act on the subject, it provided for a loan for ten years at five per cent interest. Neither that act nor the one in 1721 for further bills made what was issued a legal tender, but the same circulated. Francis Rawle's pamphlet, mentioned in the last chapter, advocated for Pennsylvania the creation of money by public authority, instead of dependence upon coined metal intrinsically worth or nearly worth the face value. He argued that there was not enough silver and copper in the province, and that it was impossible to bring in the amount required by the community either by recovering trade already lost, or by forcing a new trade, and that it would take too long to bring about an influx of gold and silver by raising its value. The pamphlet suggested, that, to keep the paper money equal in value to gold and silver, it must, among other features, arise from a fund, and, therefore, as private offices, particularly that at Westminster, were by letters patent allowed to lend on the security of real estate, goods, wares, &ct., the Province should lend a certain quantity of bills on the security of land, interest equal to that paid for gold and silver and an instalment of the debt being paid annually, while the Province itself could issue some of the bills to pay for public requirements, and from a tax could be enabled to get in and sink such bills. Pennsylvania in establishing paper money adopted in substance the project of Rawle. It did not commend itself to the "safe and sane" Councillors and probably, had these members of the creditor class and these agents for the greatest creditors of the inhabitants, the Proprietary family and the mortgagees, been allowed a veto upon legislation, no such money would have been made a legal tender. Sir William, on the other hand, supported his friend Rawle, and carried the measure through. On the petition of freeholders and inhabitants of the City and County of Philadelphia, the Assemblymen chosen in 1722 turned their attention to paper money to add to the circulating medium, although counter petitions urged instead that the price of current money be raised, and its exportation prohibited, and that the produce of the province be made a currency. This last suggestion was in accordance with the practice of early times in the colonies, when, for instance, the salary of ministers in Virginia had been so many pounds of tobacco. Norris and Logan were allowed to read a paper before the Assembly on the danger of ill concerted methods. They spoke of the absolute necessity of establishing the bills of credit on a founda |